Wait
by Integrity FTW
Summary: I don't like a lot of things. Somethings I dislike more than others. Like this man, and all his questions. Rated T, for possiblilities in later chapters, first person, Kankuro-centric.
1. Chapter 1

If there's something I hate it has to be ignorance. That's probably why I don't like kids. Ignorance kills your judgment and will get you in a heap of trouble if you ignore it. It's also very uncomfortable. I'm not talking about having a crick in your neck uncomfortable. I'm talking about the kind of uncomfortable that twists you stomach, aches behind your eyes, and makes you wake up in a cold sweat, too petrified to scream…Yeah, that uncomfortable. I try to avoid it at all costs…all costs. Yet now I find myself sitting of a freakishly comfortable couch drowning in it. Ignorance, I mean.

"Do you know why you're here?" The man asked. He sat in a chair maybe, a yard or two away from me. He wore his headband in the traditional way and wore common Suna clothing.

"No." My throat was dry as I answered.

Ignorance is bliss? What a load of crap.

"I'm not going to tell you." The man replied, writing something down on a notepad he was holding. I didn't say anything. This guy was pissing me off. "You're going to tell me." He continued, obviously ignoring the glare I felt forming on my face.

It seemed the man didn't need to look down as he wrote. His hand just scribbled and scribbled. "I want you to tell me about yourself, Kankuro."

"And I want you to tell me why I'm here, but that won't happen will it?" I replied, rude and sarcastic. A small smile formed on the man's lips. The kind of smile that a spider would have when it felt the tug of fly, caught in its web. I felt shivers run up my spine. My back felt bear without my scrolls or Karasu, vulnerable.

"You'll learn in time, a short amount of time if you're cooperative." The man responded, seeming unaffected by my unkind tone.

"I don't really feel like being cooperative." I retorted. "Honestly I'm about ready to leave." The man raised an eyebrow as I stood up.

"Are you sure that's what your ready to do?" The man asked me. If I weren't a ninja I would have thought he was just scratching his neck, but I'm a ninja. I saw the tiny twitch of his pink flick the tiniest bit of his robe exposing armor that looked like a shirt. Being a ninja, I knew this armor was only worn by Jounins. My teeth dug into my lip. I may be a ninja, but I'm just a chuunin.

With a sigh I reluctantly sat back onto the still freakishly comfortable couch. "Fine, how do I cooperate?"

-

"Kankuro, jeez it's late. Baki-sensei said you guys were just going to do some training, I didn't expect it to take several hours!" Temari's voice rang as I closed the front door as quietly as I could.

_Training?_ I hadn't been training; it was more like an interrogation.

"Yeah…" I called already trekking to my room, "Turns out I need a lot of training."

"Oh." Temari replied, as if she expected it. I saw her poke her head out of her room before I shut the door to mine. She completely believed that I need hours of training.

_11:15 PM_

Almost four hours of "special" training.

-

"Wake up!"

Let me make one thing clear, I am not a morning person.

"Kankuro if you don't get out of bed-!" Temari's voice trembled with irritation…whatever. I rolled over, making sure to keep my head covered with my blankets.

Three main points registered in my brain in following seconds. One, I was cold. Two, my head really hurt, and three, I was no longer lying in bed.

"Baki wants to meet you at the training grounds. If you're late…" Temari trailed off as she left my room letting my imagination come up with some exaggerated idea of what would happen.

I blinked trying to get the sleepiness out of my eyes. My room was pretty dark; I always had my curtain pulled over widow to keep the sun from waking me up. When I was partially conscious I braved a glance at my clock.

_6:15 AM_

What in the world could Baki-sensei want at six in the morning? I dragged my feet as I got ready that morning. Finally I slung Karasu over my shoulder and was out the door.

-

It was a little breezy when I got to the training ground. Small particles of sand danced around my shoes when I finally came to a halt in front of my sensei.

Baki seemed relatively normal, maybe he was ignoring the fact that the sun had barely risen. He just stood there, his arm crossed and no expression on his face. Well at least there wasn't an expression on the half of his face I could see. Now that I think about it, I don't think I have ever seen Baki without the head veil thingy he wears. Hah, I don't even know what it's called.

"Put Karasu on the ground." Baki's serious tone broke my thoughts.

"What?" I asked, surprised. I looked at Baki. His features showed no signs of humor or even a lie. He didn't say anything, expecting me to follow his ridiculous request. Instead of reiterating his command Baki merely folded his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" I changed my question. Maybe I could a verbal answer to this one.

"You are not very skilled in unarmed and hand to hand combat." Baki replied simply.

With a sigh I took Karasu off my back and placed him gingerly on the ground. Then something hit me in the head; hard.

-

My head throbbed, but it was something else that pissed me off. The same freakishly comfortable couch was underneath me. I bolted up right once I realized I was lying down.

"Don't get up too quickly. You might get light headed."

It was him; the same guy from before.

"How did I get here?" I snapped at the jounin. He shrugged his shoulders as if we had been conversing like normal people I hadn't just regained consciousness after being what I believed to be the victim of a cheap shot.

Last time I all this guy wanted was information. Maybe if I…

"What do you want to know?" I reluctantly asked. This sooner this was over the sooner I could figure how I got here in the first place.

"Tell me about your big sister." He asked, finally his pen paused and the man glanced down at his notepad. Then his dark eyes met mine. They were glazed over. I couldn't see anything in them, not even my own reflection.

"She's the leader." There wasn't any other way of describing Temari.

"Why?" The man asked. His pen danced across his notepad again.

"She was always there. Giving orders or making dinner." I refused to meet the man's eyes. It made the hairs of the back of my neck stand up.

"What about your little brother?" The man asked. I couldn't keep my self from chuckling, just a tiny bit.

"What's so funny?" The man asked glancing down at his notes again.

I answered with a smile," I've never considered Gaara, my 'little' brother."

"Why is that?"

"Because he's never been a little brother to me." I replied simply.

"Is that because he's surpassed you…" The man started, "…or because of Shukaku?"

I didn't know how to reply.

"I always thought he surpassed me…because of Shukaku."

-

**Author's Note: I experimenting with this fic more than anything else. Honestly, I'm rather hesitant to post it. Thought I must admit, I'm curios to where I'll be able to take it. Any ideas, comments, questions? I know this piece doesn't…explain aspects very well and I'm all ears. **


	2. Chapter 2

The man looked at me silently. I couldn't keep myself from meeting his eyes. His eyes were practically black. His pupil was barely noticeable while surrounded by the dark brown iris. I still couldn't see my reflection. Tension from the silence was starting to build up, almost to the point where I could feel it, like a heavy weight against my chest.

His eyes looked back down at his notepad. It shattered the pressure.

"Because of Shukaku?" The man repeated, still looking at his notepad. His pencil making mad scribbles across the page at a pace I thought was inhuman. I gave a curt nod of my head. I wasn't completely sure if I could speak at the moment.

"Hm." The jounin went back to watching himself write on the notepad. I expected him to ask me another question about Gaara. Everybody always wanted to know about Gaara, well as long as he wasn't around to hear.

He didn't ask me another question. In fact, the man didn't even look at me again.

That's when I started realizing the most minor aspects of my situation. My head wasn't hurting as much. It has receded to a dull ache that I only noticed if I bothered to think about it. My lower back was starting to bug me. I was sitting up straight on the couch and hadn't used the backrest the entire time I was here. Honestly I can say that I've never felt my back hurt like this after just sitting. Then again, I usually sit slouching so maybe it was just from my good posture.

Why was I sitting up, anyway? The jounin made me uneasy, but that shouldn't make me feel that I need to sit properly. I allowed myself to lean back a little bit.

I still wasn't used to the absence of my puppet. The back of the couch was a little further away than I expected. My muscles reacted instantly making my neck jerk to the side so I could look over my shoulder.

The couch was a dark red brown. It reminded me of wet clay that I used to play with in pre-academy classes.

The ninja cleared his throat loudly and I sat against the dark couch with a loud thump.

"Comfortable yet?" He asked emotionlessly. I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or sincere. I couldn't even identify which of the two was more likely. This man gave absolutely nothing away. It made my stomach twist uneasily.

"Like you care." I replied, trying to convey some sort of rudeness. Being rude is almost like a wall when people want to understand you. It's solid, as long you're consistent. Practically impenetrable.

Silently, the man put down his small notepad. He placed it on a small desk next to where he sat, and then placed his pen on top. Leaning over, he put his elbows on his knees and rested his head on his hands. His eyes caught mine and didn't let go.

"You're wrong Kankuro. I do care." His tone remained the same, devoid of emotion, but now, I could feel my solid wall crumbling before me. Something told me he wasn't lying. The same thing reminded me not to lie to myself, not to fall for something too good to be true.

"I don't believe you." The words left my lips while my brain wasn't paying attention. My voice seemed far away. It was hard to recognize it as my own.

"Of course not. You'd be in an even worse state if you did."

"Worse?"

"You know you aren't in the best position." His eyes seemed to speak louder than his voice. They seemed to be challenging me to prove him wrong. Prove him wrong of what? I decided not to say anything. Admitting that I didn't understand would wipe my wall right off the face of the earth.

"Considering your situation for the past 14 years of your life." He added.

I still didn't understand what he meant. What was happening to me the first fourteen years of my life that has stopped this year? Being fifteen didn't have any significance in Suna, last time I checked.

"Kankuro, your life significantly changed a little more than a year ago. Do you know what happened?" The man wasn't even glancing at his note book. It struck me odd that he didn't plan to take any notes even though he was asking me a direct question.

Then it hit me like a brick in the gut. About a year and a half ago Temari, Gaara, and I had gone to Konoha to compete in the Chunin exams. Gaara changed a lot because of the experience.

Crossing my arms defensively, I snorted. Of course. It always comes down to Gaara. I was right to think this was too good to be true. This guy doesn't care about me. He only wants to know more about the "new" Gaara. I'm just a source of information.

"Something wrong?"

I grunted, angrily glaring at the blank wall behind the interrogator. After all these years I still haven't learned hoping and getting disappointed is worse than never hoping at all. Still.

"You can sit there as long as you want. I'm not going anywhere."

"I bet you can't afford to go anywhere. I'm your only option." I grumbled. A familiar violent urge flowed through my body. It made me want to practice knife techniques with Karasu. Feeling the absence of my puppet made it stronger.

The man didn't respond. His blank stare was plastered on his face. I stared right back at him. It made no sense to me how he could keep his face so lifeless. I could feel my muscles twitching, begging me to let them snarl and bust my way out of here. My brain argued with them. Reminding them that the pain a jounin could inflict wasn't worth it. Not at the moment, at least.

But I couldn't take it anymore.

"Let me out of here! I'm going to tell you anything about Gaara that you don't already know so just let me be!" My voice had risen to a yell and I had stood up. The man smiled. The smile that was like a carnivorous plant about to close its jaws on its prey.

I felt my knees weaken and I fell back onto the couch.

"You think this is about Gaara?" He asked, incredulously, almost like he was about to crack up. "You think I would go through all this trouble just to learn about your already infamous brother?"

I blinked slowly, trying to comprehend what I was hearing. He didn't want to know more about Gaara? My mind abruptly decided that this fact wasn't of importance. This man is practically laughing at you. Laughing. No one has had the nerve to do that for more than a decade.

I scowled angrily, averting my gaze to the carpeted floor. Looking at the pale red carpet was easier than him.

"I believe we've made extreme progress." His voice was suddenly back to normal, mechanical. He hadn't actually been laughing at me. It was a test. Acting, he had been pretending just to see how I would react. I didn't know what to think.

"Your entire life has been forced to revolve around Gaara. Being a normal person would simply put you further in his shadow, so you put on a rude exterior."

Someone had to say a statement like that for me to realize it wasn't true. My entire hasn't resolved around Gaara. Only most of it has. I had two and a half years of life before Gaara was even born.


	3. Chapter 3

I don't remember completely clearly, but I think I can recall most of it.

I remember a building. It was short, and had a low, flat roof, and like all the other buildings was made of sand. Someone always brought me and Temari there, every morning. They always held our hands. Temari had one, and I had the other. Apparently I never looked at this person, because I can't think of who they are for the life of me.

Temari never liked to talk about it. Whenever I asked her about it, she would refuse to answer my questions. I just assumed it was because mom was alive back then. Being the oldest, Temari was only one who really had a solid memory of our mother. Therefore, I reasoned she was the only one of us who could really miss her.

For some reason, I don't think it was mom who took us to that building every day. I know it wasn't the Kazekage either. Anyway, it was what happened while at this building that I remember so vividly.

It was kind of like a day care. There were lots of other children there, some older, some younger than me. The place wasn't meant to be educational; all that I remember doing there was being entertained and playing.

We played outside a lot. There was some playground equipment, I think, but the most memorable part of it was the sand box. Compared to the sand on the ground, what was in the sandbox was of another species. It was a darker, rich tan with grains so smooth that it seemed to melt in a toddler's hands.

The swings and slides didn't matter. Every time I got to go outside I went straight to the sand box. At first I liked to build whatever I liked out of the sand, but the older kids liked to knock my work once I went inside. When I told Temari about it, she told me to ignore them.

So I did.

I continued to build what I pleased. Whenever I would stick my hands in the sand images of what I could make came to mind. It reminds me of the feeling I have when I hold a new puppet. Ideas of where I could place knives or other attacks to experiment with in future battles.

It was the beginning of one of our outdoor breaks. I was the first one to the sand. While inside I remember thinking about what I wanted to build. By the time I was outside I knew exactly what I was going to make and how. With my mental blueprint my hands worked quickly. I can't recall exactly what it looked like, but I knew it had been big. Due to my speed I was able to complete the structure before we had to go inside.

I stood up, proud of my achievement. When I got up some of the other kids started talking.

"Look at that stupid thing in the sand over there."

I concentrated on standing still and looked only at my sand structure. Just ignore them. They're the stupid ones…

"Yeah! It's so stupid. The only thing stupider is the one who took the time to make it."

If you hit them Temari gets mad. I focused on keeping my small fists still at my sides.

I remember hearing their muffled footsteps in the sand. The mean kids always traveled in groups. One of them shoved me in the shoulder. It had been a rough shove for me to take, but I know I kept my balance. They said stuff I don't remember. Stuff I'm glad I don't remember. It doesn't really make sense, but I kept my cool. When I was younger I apparently didn't have as big a temper.

I told myself that if I could put up with the bullies until the adults called to come inside I'd be fine. With that resolve I gritted my teeth and continued to tough it out. It seemed to be working fine until one of the kids went into the sand box. With the jeers and support of his friends the kids smashed what I had worked so hard to build; what I was so excited and enthusiastic about.

After that I can't remember anything as vividly. The other kids laughed at me when I tackled the larger boy only to be brushed off onto the sand.

All my other childhood memories have something to do with Gaara.

-

"Kankuro."

I blinked.

"You seemed to be deep in thought."

I didn't respond. The jounin was writing again. How long ago had he started taking notes again? How had I not noticed? I scolded myself mentally. Getting caught up in old memories was no excuse to neglect paying attention to the present. Through the passing seconds it became clear that the jounin wasn't going to speak again with out a response from me. I waited. I let my eyes wander around the room. There was a window, but thick curtains shielded it completely. No light entered the room from it. The only sole source of light was from a simple ceiling lamp.

I thought carefully about how to respond. It was futile. No matter how hard I thought, I couldn't determine what kind of response I should give. I felt a headache coming on in my left temple. Accepting defeat I just spoke what came to mind.

"What's the point of this? I should be on missions, or at least doing something productive." I frowned, and sighed silently. I didn't want to be here anymore. I was ready to go train with Karasu or even spar with Temari. Just to do something that would leave me exhausted, so exhausted that I would just lie down in bed and fall asleep. Before bed I'm always left alone with my thoughts. I've already spent too much time with my thoughts today I didn't need any more.

"How do you know this isn't productive?" He looked at me stoicly.

"Because it's not." I countered stubbornly. What good was all this talking doing? If it was supposed to be helping someone it wasn't helping me. The headache forming in my left temple was growing. The ache irritated me.

"Well," The jounin exhaled loudly, "You'll change your mind in due time." Before I could open my mouth he threw his hands together, beginning a series of hand signs. I recgonized it as a type of genjutsu. Sloppily I linked my hands together intending to do a Genjutsu Kai.

It was too late. My breath was cut abrubtly short and from the corners of my eyes I watched darkness overpower my vision. It was almost as if I was unconcious. I knew my eyes were open. I could blink and look around, but all I could see was the new darkness.

Stupid jounin-level genjutsu…

**Authors Note: No excuses here, just a late not-so-great update. Next one'll be better. Promise. Hopefully I didn't completely screw up Kankuro's early childhood…**


	4. Chapter 4

Another couch. With my eyes closed I relied on my other senses. It didn't take me long to realize this was a familar piece of furniture. My muscles relaxed and a breath of relief escaped my lips. It was about time.

I was at home. Slowly, I opened my eyes in to the dim lighting of our living room. It was comfortable and my eyes adjusted quickly. Something moved in the room. I turned my head to find a sight I wasn't expecting.

"Temari will be glad to hear you're awake." Gaara spoke calmly without breaking eye contact with me. It reminded me too much of the…the jounin! I felt a snarl erupt from my throat as I sat up as quickly as I could. Gaara didn't seem fazed. He sat stiffly on a chair.

"Temari said not to let you hurt yourself even more."

"What?" I asked, "Hurt myself?" Gaara shrugged.

"Baki brought you home a couple hours ago unconscious. He said training went a little rough and you hurt yourself."

I bit my tongue to restrain a string of colorful words. That filthy liar! I bunched my fists in my lap and concentrated on not saying anything I'd regret. Gaara was impressionable, like a little child ever since his encounter with Naruto Uzumaki from Konoha. Baki and Temari were always getting on my case for being a bad "big brother" figure.

I thought it was stupid. Gaara had been through more than any kid his age I know. He's not going to suddenly forget all about that and look to me to be his role model. If anyone, he was going to look at Baki or even Temari.

"Kankuro…" Gaara didn't use my name often, even now. I looked at him. Gaara was looking at my curled fists. My teeth dug into my lower lip. Forget about them…you can deal with them later…

I relaxed my hands and held them palms up still in my lap.

"Is…is there something you want to do?" Gaara asked, still staring at my hands.

"No. Not right now." I replied speaking slowly as I focused my visual attention on him. Gaara seemed off. He blinked and moved his gaze to his own hands their position similar to mine. He looked confused, or maybe baffled was more fit.

"Is there something you want to do?" I asked as I turned and let my legs hand off the couch so I could properly sit on the couch. Out of habit I hunched forward, placing my elbows on my knees.

"I don't know." There were pauses between Gaara's words. "No, I want to do something. I don't know what it is." He corrected as he placed his hands face down on his thighs. His raccoon eyes met mine.

"That's a start." I couldn't help it when the corners of lips tugged. I gave a weak smile. Out of… something. Surprise? Or is this what brothers are supposed to do? I don't know. Maybe Gaara is just a lot different than I thought. He really does seem like a little child. It's possible that…Temari and Baki might be right.

"Are you hungry?" Gaara asked abruptly. The question caught me off guard.

"Huh?" Was I hungry?

"Temari told me to ask you when you woke up."

"Yeah, actually." I replied while simultaneously realizing that I was_ really_ hungry. Gaara stood up. I followed him to the kitchen.

"Did Temari make something?" I asked as I rummaged through the refrigerator. Before I gave Gaara time to respond I'd found a large lidded bowl filled with what I assumed to be soup. I pulled it out and based on its weight I assumed it wasn't leftovers. I doubted any one had eaten any. Placing it on the counter I confirmed my suspicions as I removed the lid. It was filled with a thick pale liquid that smelled of potatoes. Normally I would've just stuck my finger in it to try some, but… I glanced at Gaara. He looked back at me blankly.

Fine. I pulled open a drawer and retrieved a spoon. Slipping a spoonful of soup into my mouth made my appetite kick in to gear. I felt hungry enough to eat anything and too impatient to be particular. The soup itself tasted better than I thought. It was thick and rich and the scent wasn't deceiving. It did taste like potatoes.

Licking my lips I opened a cupboard and reached for a bowl. Something then occurred to me.

"You want some?" I looked over my shoulder at Gaara. He nodded once. I grabbed two bowls.

I heard the front door open, shut, and then a series of loud footsteps. I dropped my spoon in to my empty bowl and listened to the quiet clinks. Gaara silently laid his spoon on the table next to his also empty bowl. Any time now…

"Kankuro," I think Temari said my name out loud unintentionally. She always seemed to stomp around when something was up. It always reminded me of a rhino. I raised an eyebrow at her. She pursed her lips and crossed her arms then leaned against the side of the door frame. I watched her as she surveyed the scene, glancing at Gaara, our empty dishes, and eventually the bowl on the counter.

She brought a hand to her forehead. "You know that what you ate wasn't finished cooling."

"Tasted fine to me." I replied with a toothy grin. "Food is food."

"Whatever," Temari replied waving her dismissingly as she plopped down in to the chair next to me and across from Gaara.

"Where were you?" I asked as I raised my arms and linked my hands behind my head. Temari rested her head on her hand propped up by her elbow. Her gaze was on the table. It looked far away. I wasn't sure if Temari was going to answer me or not.

"I was training with Baki." She pressed her lips together. Was there something she wasn't telling us?

"What-" Temari interrupted me.

"And he told me that we're all to meet the at the Kazekage building tomorrow morning."

It became quiet. Temari's eyebrows were knitted together. Gaara was frowning and looking straight in to his empty bowl. I didn't like the silence.

"It could just be some sort of mission." I suggested quietly, rubbing my chin. I felt both Temari and Gaara's gazes on me. I met them as I stood up from my place at the table. "I'll be in the workshop."

As I walked away Temari didn't bother to remind me to put my dish away. Something is seriously going on, but right now I had a puppet to check on.

**Author's Note: They ate Vichyssoise. I've never had it, but it sounds good. **


	5. Chapter 5

The familiar silence was stale. I'd been up at such an early hour many times before. The sun was still out of sight with light clouds pale against the dark sky. I trudged tiredly through the sand, slightly behind my siblings.

Getting nervous is a weak thing to do, but right now I couldn't help it. After how Temari acted the night before, delivering the summoning to the Kazekage building…it made something in my stomach twist.

It was odd. Ever since the Kazekage was killed our nation's government's been struggling to keep everything together. It's been a year since we lost our leader, and a new one hasn't been chosen.

They didn't have time to waste on the three messed up kids the Kazekage left. We had to be here for something big, something important. We reached the doors to the Kazekage's old office. I traded glances with Gaara and Temari. They knew how important this was too.

The door opened and we stepped inside, before a council full of elderly nin. Their faces looked as course as the sand outside with their eyes teetering on the fence between the wisdom of a ninja and the glazed of the aged.

I kept my mouth shut and waited to be addressed.

"Gaara, Kankuro, Temari…Do you know why you're here?" The center councilmen spoke, his face the roughest, but his eyes the sharpest.

Gaara's head shook. I kept mine still.

There was a heavy pause.

"There is a growing rebel camp a two day travel from here. You three with a team of three others are to terminate the camp by any means you see fit. You leave in an hour. Be back by then." The councilmen's face had barely shifted from it stern set. I felt Gaara motionless beside me while Temari stood radiating ambition.

"Let's go." She ordered confidently. I was too tired to make a snarky comment and obeyed.

* * *

"Kankuro, hurry up!" Temari's voice echoed from down the hall. I grunted loudly. Where was it?I never remember where I put my kunai kit. I only bring it because it's mandatory on missions; otherwise it's just a waste of space. Karasu rocked gently with my steps as I walked around the relatively small room. All sorts of wood piles laid around the room, scraps to what might be considered small trees. The tile floor was dusty under my feet. I walked past the single table in the middle of the room; bare.

"Kankuro!" Oh screw it. I wouldn't need it anyway.

"I'm coming. I'm coming." I left my workshop and shut the door. Temari and Gaara were waiting for me at the end of the hallway wearing their respective fan and gourd. With a nod from Temari, we left.

* * *

In the distance I could see four figures standing in front of the Kazekage building. I could recognize the council nin from his hunched shoulders. The other three must be out mission companions. I walked slowly alongside Temari and Gaara, watching them as we approached.

Coming close now, one of them waved obnoxiously, a guy. He wore his headband across his forward and had a head of brown hair. It was dark enough that without the rising sun it would appear black. The two who stood on either side of him were silent and stoic. One of them was female, with yellow hair even paler than Temari's. On the other side of the obnoxious one was another guy. He wore a head turban like Baki and seemed older than his companions. I mentally noted the he must be a jounin.

"'Bout time you guys showed up!" Obnoxious guy jeered with a smile on his face. He seemed ridiculously carefree…which irritated me. Blondie looked about ready to roll her eyes and the jounin remained still.

The council nin threw the punk a glance which shut him up pretty quick. He then addressed all six of us, "Temari, you will be leading this mission." He pointed with his hand at the jounin, "Takura is accompanying as a supervising jounin. He will not hinder nor help the leadership of this unit."

Temari gave one vigorous nod. I recognized that ruthless glint in her eye, the same one she had when she owned that Konoha girl in the chunin examines. I kept myself from rolling my eyes.

"Identify yourselves." Temari ordered assertively to Blondie and the punk.

Immediately Blondie straightened up, "Hana Ranku, chunin." On her straightened figure I could see an assortment of short range combat weapons, daggers and a half sword sported her waist. Next to them under a cover cloth, a pouch without a bottom, I could see the tips of several vials, likely containing poison. Fun.

Temari and Hana looked expectantly at the punk.

"Oh? My turn already? Well," He shook his head that if his hair wasn't so short it would have flipped. "Ose Bli, chunin and single." He winked at Temari with that same carefree smile. I thought I heard Gaara growl a bit. I bit my lip to withhold a chuckle.

There was an awkward pause. Temari stared at Ose unaffected.

"We're wasting time. Let's go already." I finally spoke up, crossing my arms across my chest.

The council nin just grunted and began heading back into the building.

"Alright let's go."

Missions only really begin once you've lost sight of Suna and are only surrounded by the empty desert. This mission was no different.

Temari set a quick pace, probably aiming to get to the camp half a day early. I fell in step behind Temari next to Gaara. The three others followed behind. I could hear Hana's breathing with a little more difficulty than the rest of us.

We hadn't been moving for very long when Ose came up next to Gaara, completely messing up our formation. Gaara seemed unsure and glanced at me. I glared at Ose. He just smiled stupidly at me. I opened my mouth to tell him off, when-

"Hey, keep formation." Hana's voice caught me off guard. I looked over my shoulder at her. She indicated at the empty spot Ose left. I guess it wasn't fair if she was stuck with the punk all the time.

I fell back into Ose's old spot, next to Hana and in front of Takura. I ran in silence for a while, observing Hana through my peripherals. Her hair fell just past her shoulders, held up in a plain pony tail. What really caught my eye was how scratched up her headband was. She wore it on her shoulder that currently faced me. It was clean, but scratches and dents riddled it.

I suppressed my curiosity and faced forward.

**Author's Note: Not much to say, just moving the story along.  
**


End file.
